


Kept for Luck

by officialdaddywankenobi



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Female Character of Color, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:27:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27867618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/officialdaddywankenobi/pseuds/officialdaddywankenobi
Summary: The Mandalorian saves a wanted person from a cantina firefight. He has no idea that this encounter will take his already turbulent life one step closer to chaos.





	1. The Introduction

A sigh so soft it was just audible was all I caught in his direction when my words slipped from my chapped lips. 

His fingers stroked the various switches and flashing buttons that lit up the console, not unlike the strokes of an artist, elegant and practiced, skilled and with an effortless air that belied the acute focus I knew he kept on every stroke of his fingers as we glided out of the atmosphere of the burning planet. It never fails to amaze me how he never seems to lose that focus. Always present from the manner in which he pilots the Crest to the other seemingly menial tasks I’ve watched him complete. Sure I've only known him in passing, watching him as his shiny beskar poked out like a sore thumb whenever he landed in Mos Eisley. Despite the lack of actual interactions I had with the man encased in armor, I was fascinated by just how effortlessly he always managed to carry himself, and his bounty, back towards the shipyards and off of my desolate planet. 

“Don’t push your luck, kid” his modulator responded to me after we breached the atmosphere, leaving behind the few blaster bolts that may have still been following us, and he typed in the coordinates of a planet I was unfamiliar with. His visor felt like it was burning a hole into my entire being when he turned to look at me after my “offer”. The sensation was eerie not knowing the expression on his face due to the helmet he refused to remove. The voice modulator definitely didn’t help ease any discomfort, on my end at least. Although I wasn’t about to back down, I was raised in the unforgiving dune seas of Tatooine, I could handle having a conversation with a Mandalorian, even if this one in particular had a dangerous reputation. 

“It was worth a try.” I huff, after a beat of silence I added, “It seems like you could use the help.” I pointedly look in the direction of the pram that is haphazardly strapped into the seat on his right. If only to have him move his gaze away from me and back towards the child that was sleeping soundly within the pram. A child I knew was special with just a nudge into that space of my mind that gave me a glimpse of something much bigger than myself.

The Mandalorian gave a quick glance at his ward, releasing another sigh he focused once more on his hands as they stroked over the control console in that calculated manner he has, and pulled us into hyperspace. 

“We’ll be in hyperspace for three hours.” He announced as he pulled himself out of his seat with a slight swish of his cape. Picking up the child, with a care I would have never thought he possessed, he began to head out the door before turning towards me once more, visior looking down at me keeping me glued to my seat. “If you touch anything I will add you to the cargo manifest.” He kept his visor on me until I managed a weak nod, with my confirmation he dropped to the lower deck and left me to think about the absolute mess I had managed to get myself into, all before the second sunrise.


	2. Firefight

Four Standard hours before:

Today was starting off as a monumentally bad day. My back was sore from having slept in an awkward position and the sound of a screaming womp rat had kept me up long after my shift ended in the cantina, leaving me with about two standard hours of sleep. Groaning, I pulled myself out of the lumpy mattress I called a bed and began getting ready for the day ahead of me. As I got dressed, pulling on a pair of legging and loose tunic, clinched down by a belt, I debated if I should try my luck at stealing a cup of caf from the Cantina before heading to the hanger for my day job. Thinking that if I stopped at the cantina I might get side tracked and show up late for my shift, “Kriff, I’m all out of caf too,” I muttered as I shoved my feet into my worn boots. Resigning myself to a morning without caf, I reached for my credits pouch and my favorite holster, with my blaster already strapped inside with the same thick leather straps that wrap around my thigh, heavy compared to my pouch of credits, making me hesitate. It’s then that I realized I didn’t grab my tips before leaving the cantina the night before, weighing the pouch I realized I needed my tips if I wanted to eat something today. Stuffing my holster into my bag along with my pouch, canteen and an extra pair of arm bindings I mutter to myself about being irresponsible as I punched in the code to lock my door as it slid shut. Walking as fast as I could without kicking up too much dust I made my way towards the cantina. 

“You’re not supposed to be here today” Yuma commented when she heard the door slide shut behind me. 

“Forgot my tips'' I grumbled as I punched my code into the register. Then, giving her a shit eating grin, I took advantage of being behind the counter and poured myself a cup of caf as the register counted out the tips I earned the night before. 

“You’ll get reamed for that again when he catches you,” Yuma said in a slightly sing-song voice as she picked up a heavy tray full of drinks. Her lekku wiggling with the same motion of her eyebrows. “I can persuade him not to if you drop these drinks off at the back table for me.” 

Yuma is a slim twi’lek with radiant green skin, she was rescued from slavers by Chalmun and adopted as his daughter soon after. I’m positive she's the only reason I still have a job here. That and the fact that I’ve got decent aim with a blaster, a useful skill when the cantina has a certain reputation. There’s no other reason Chalmun would overlook the bounty that's on my head and allow me to work here. Sure there are others who live on this dustball, who are wanted by the ISB, but the few who know the reason my old crew left me here would be more than happy to turn me in, after all it's not everyday they have a chance to secure 10 million credits for a seemingly ordinary human. 

With an eye roll and a quick glance at the chono, that let me know I did have a few minutes to spare, I dropped my bag behind the counter and lifted the tray of drinks. Doing my best to set the glasses on the table without bringing attention to myself, I was very close to finishing when their conversation caught my attention. 

“-out by the moisture farms, don’t care what he calls himself now but that kid ain't welcome here.” The bounty hunter talking was a man that looked to be a few years older than myself, his face was somewhat familiar but I couldn’t seem to place him, “We don’t need those flashy politicians he surrounds himself with trying to insert themselves in this part of the galaxy. Business on Tatooine has always flourished with a little bit of chaos.” He finishes his drink as I set the last one down to his left, after going around the circle of the five men sitting at the table, with a self satisfied smirk on his face he turns to look at me and reaches an arm around my waist. “How about another, sweetheart?” he drawled as he set his empty glass on my recently vacated tray. 

“Soon as you take your hands off me.” I replied with a slightly clipped voice. Having men paw at me has been a hazard of the job, drunk men and the occasional woman have been on the wrong end of my blaster. Despite Chalmun’s many warnings against manhandling the staff, it seems many think they are an exception to the rule. Especially those who have lived here their entire lives. 

“Oh don’t be like that, sweetheart” he continues as his hand starts to drift lower, making me realize I didn’t strap my holster on me this morning. His eyes roamed my face and then dropped, leaving me with an uncomfortable feeling as recognition flashed over his face. “Wait a second-” his smile turned into a wicked grin just as I realized who he was in turn. His grip on my hip turned to steel. “I think today is our lucky day boys” his voice now a loud boom as I struggled against his hold. 

“Let me go” I spit out, not allowing panic to set in just yet. 

“I don’t think I will, sweetheart” He stood up, allowing his chair to fall back with a loud crash, “I think, I will gain a nice reward for you, won’t I?” His grin widening as he looks over my face again, recognizing me from the wanted posters I take down every week. 

Shit, he knows. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I spit back as I try to hold in the panic that was rising in my chest. 

“Oh, I think you do” he tips his head down, his lips by my ear as he finishes his sentence, “jedi”. 

The word made my blood run cold. I thought I had more time here, I thought I could hide for just a bit longer, before I was forced to leave this planet. Cursing myself for thinking that changing my name and dying hair was going to be enough, I began to act with one thought in mind. Escape. 

Using the hand that was still clutching the tray I slammed the tray against the man’s head. His grip on my hip loosened for a second. Taking advantage I twisted out of his reach and ran towards the bar. The look on Yuma’s face warned me to duck before the red streak of a blaster bolt warmed the air above my head. Then all hell broke loose.   
I was stuck. Hidden behind an overturned durasteel table I realized that my old crew was right to leave me behind. Those pirates knew exactly what they were doing leaving me behind on the planet of my birth, they might have left me here to avoid killing me, but they might as well have signed my death certificate when they left me behind. I wasn't going to last very long here, even with Yuma tossing my bag at me when I flipped the table over. My baster was not fully charged and I'm too far away from the door to attempt running out without receiving a blaster bolt to the back. Panic was the only thing rushing through my veins at this point, crouched behind an overturned table as blaster bolts threatened to penetrate the durasteel. I’m going to have to expose myself was the thought that ran through my mind when I switched out the charges on my blaster. Ten rounds was all I had left to shoot, calculating the distance between the exit and the bolts in the balster, I might get halfway to the door. Shit shit shit! Reaching for the weapon that I kept hidden in a secret compartment of my bag, I took a deep breath. Steeling myself from the look of betrayal I knew Yuma was going to give me after this, I wrapped myself in determination and began to stand when then the blasts were silenced. Looking around I realized that I was standing in a messy cantina facing the bodies of my attackers and a Mandalorian who has his blaster aimed straight at me.

"I hear you're a person with an unusual set of skills." he states. With a dry mouth I nod, yes. I was more than aware of the "set of skills" he's asking about, it's the same skills that had my crew leave me behind on the dust ball I thought I had escaped so many years ago. “Lets go. More will come.” He motioned towards the door with his blaster as one of the men let out a moan and he quickly silenced him with another red bolt. 

Yuma peeked over the bar and urged me to leave. Her eyes never left the hilt of the weapon that was resting in my right hand. I didn’t turn it on but anyone who kept up with the rumors of the rebellion and the new republic knew what it was, I was no longer safe here. 

With a silent “I’m sorry” in the direction of Yuma I slipped the hilt back into my bag, replaced it with my blaster and followed the Mandalorian towards the shipyard. 

We had just made it to a Razor Crest when more Bounty hunters arrived, shoving me up the ramp the Mandalorian returned fire and pressed a button on the inside panel of the ship closing the ramp and leaving me on the floor as he moved towards the cockpit. After a few shaky breaths I centered myself and followed his path towards the cockpit.


End file.
